A federal high court in Abuja has discharged and acquitted Abba Kyari, suspended deputy commissioner of police, of a 23-count charge of alleged non-declaration of assets filed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice James Omotosho held that the prosecution failed to establish its case against Kyari and the other defendants. Kyari was charged alongside his two brothers, who were accused of swearing false affidavits to conceal the origin of some properties allegedly linked to the police officer.
Delivering the verdict, Justice Omotosho said the NDLEA did not present sufficient evidence to prove that the properties cited in the charge belonged to Kyari. The NDLEA filed a 23-count charge (FHC/ABJ/CR/408/2022) in 2022 against Kyari and his brothers, Mohammed Kyari and Ali Kyari, accusing them of failing to declare 14 assets—including shopping malls, a residential estate, a polo playground, lands, and farmland in Abuja and Maiduguri—plus over ₦207 million and €17,598 in bank accounts at GTB, UBA, and Sterling Bank.
These violations allegedly fall under Section 35(3)(a) of the NDLEA Act and Section 15(3)(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011, with claims of disguised ownership and fund conversion.
